Automobile ignition lock



1 1935. A. R. LEWELLEN AUTOMOBILE IGNITION LOCK Filed Dec. 14., 1926Patented Apr. 9, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE v 1,997 ,465AUTOMOBILE IGNITION LOCK App ication December 14, 1926, Serial No.154,791

1'7 Claims.

This invention relates to devices which tend to prevent the theft of anautomobile and particularly to devices for locking the ignition timer innon-operating condition and for preventing removal of the timer from theframe of the engine which drives it.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a lockcontrolled device for preventing the non-cooperation of the ignitiontimer conacts.

A further object is to prevent access to the ignition timer housing sothat the means which locks the ignition timer in non-operating conditioncannot be manipulated so as to defeat the purpose of the ignition timerlook.

A still further object is to provide lock controlled means which willprevent cooperation of the timer contacts and will also prevent accessto the devices which are used to attach the ignition timer to the frameof an engine which drives it, in order that the timer cannot be removedwithout mutilating some part of the engine frame or of the timer.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparentfrom the following description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawing, wherein a preferred form of embodiment of the present inventionis clearly shown.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a fragmentary view, partly in section, of an ignition timerconstructed in accordance with the present invention, the sectional viewbeing taken on the line Il of Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is partly a sectional view on the line 2-2 of Figs. 1 and 4, andpartly a longitudinal View of the lock controlled apparatus which isapplied to the ignition timer.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the timer with the distributor head removed.

Fig. 4 is a side view of the distributor housing cover having attachedthereto certain of the elements which are used to secure the cover tothe ignition timer housing.

Referring to the drawing, numeral 25 designates the frame of an enginewhich is supplied with ignition by ignition apparatus including theignition timer to be described. The frame 20 is provided with an openingthrough the wall 2i thereof for receiving the shank 22 of a frame 23which provides an ignition timer housing 24 and a housing 25 for thespark advance mechanism to be described. The wall 26 separating thehousings 24 and 25 and the shank 22 provide bearings for the shaft 21attached at its lowerend to a gear 28 meshing with a gear 29 driven bythe engine. A shaft 30 which carries an ignition timer cam 3i and adistributor rotor 32 is received by the tubular upper end of the shaft21 and is supported thereby so that the shaft 38 may rotate relative tothe shaft 21. The shafts 5 2'1 and 3b are drivingly connected by meanswhich will produce annular displacement of the shaft 3i relative to theshaft 27. This means includes a cross pin 33 which is received by astraight longitudinal slot 34 in the shaft 36 and by diametricallyopposite helical slots in the shaft 27, one of these helical slots beingindicated by numeral 35. The ends of pin 33 are supported by a groovedcollar 36 which is moved longitudinally by a lever 3? attached by ascrew 33 to a shaft 39 which may be manually operated so as to controlthe position of the shaft 39 relative to the shaft 27. In this way thetiming of the ignition spark may be controlled as will be apparent fromthe description of the ignition timer which follows.

A breaker lever plate it is secured in any suitable manner to the bottomof the timer housing 24 and insulatingly supports an ignition breakerlever ll carrying a contact 62 which normally cooperates with arelatively stationary contact 43 in order to control the ignitioncircuit. The contact 42 is separated from the contact 43 when the timercam 3| engages a rubbing block 44 carried by the lever 4|.

The ignition timer 24 is enclosed by a cover 50 which is received by anannular recess providing a shoulder 54 which supports the cover 53. Aportion of the cover projects above the upper edge 52 of the housing 24and provides means for locating an ignition distributor head 53centrally of the timer shaft 30. It will be understood that thedistributor head 53 may be of any conventional type having stationarycontacts which cooperate with a movable contact, not shown, carried bythe distributor rotor 32. The cover 5B is provided with an extension 54located above the plane of the main portion of the cover and extendingin a notch 55 provided by the distributor head 53 so as to locate thedistributor head angularly with respect to the shaft 30.

The cover 55 is secured by riveting or spot welding to a plate 55 havingdownwardly extending resilient ears 5! which are received by notches 58provided by the housing 24 and provided also with projections 59 and 60,having notches 6i and 62 respectively. The notches BI and 52 receive theinwardly projecting ends 63 and 64 respectively of screw pins 65 and 66respectively. 55

It is apparent therefore that the cover 50 may be placed upon thehousing 24 as shown in Fig. 1, the pins 65 and 653 being initially outof vertical alignment with the extensions 59 and 66 of the plate 55.When the plate 5!] is turned so that the resilient fingers 5? will bereceived by the notches 58 of the housing 2d, the pin ends 63 and 6-?will be received by the notches 6i and 62 respectively. Therefore thecover 55) cannot be removed unless it is turned back to the position inwhich the pin ends are free of the notches. To prevent turning of thecover 58 there is provided a stud E53 which is movable within a hole 'l'l provided by the. projection 59 of the plate 55 and which is providedwith a head received by a recess l2 provided in the side of the housing2 3. The stud iii is carried by a resilient arm '53 attached by rivets Mto an extensionl5 of the plate 55. The resilient arm '53 is biased sothat it tends to maintain the stud it out of the recess E2, The arm islocated in the plane of a portion of the lever ll. When the lever '4'!is maintained in the position shown in Fig. 2, the portion lla willcooperate with the arm 73 to move the'stud iii into the recess "52thereby preventing rotation of the plate 5% and removal thereof from thehousing 2t.

Lock controlled means is provided forpreventing non-cooperation of thecontacts 42 and d3 by maintaining the breaker lever il into positionshown in Fig. 2 in which the movable contact '52 is maintained out ofcontact with the stationary contact it regardless of the rotation of thecam *l. This means includes a rod '88 adapted toengage an extension 8!of the lever ll and slidable through a bushing 82 which is permanentlyattached to the housing 24. The bushing '82 provides a recess '33 forreceiving one end of a metallic, flexible armor-tube "8'i, the

other end of which is secured to a sleeve85- s1idw able within a recess85 provided ina lock frame 8?. The armor tube'fi l encloses "a Bowdenwire tube 88 attached at one end to a washer 89 located within therecess 83 of the bushing 82 and attached at its other end to a partitionQ9 separating the recess from a recess 2} i. The Bowden wiretube 88encloses a Bowden wire 92 having' one end attached to the rod'ell andthe other end extending intothe recess SI and projecting through awasher 93 and having its end 9 bent over against one side of the washer63. This end 9 3. is urged by a spring'lle against theinner end of thebarrel 9% of the automobile type, pin tumbler'lock. The details of thislock are not all shown but it will be understood that the proper keywill produce the rotation of ake y cylinder 9? which in turn will draw aspring pressed plunger st'from a recess 99 in the side of the lock frame3 When this occurs, the'spring as will be released to effect the outwardmovement (upward as viewed in Fig. 1) of the lock barrel 9% relative tothe lock frame 3i. Thisrelative movement is limited by a pin lilllattached to the lock frame ill and extending into a slot lG'l-providedby the lock barrel Removal of the sleeve 85 from the recess '86 isprevented by a sleeve 8532 through which the sleeve 85 is slidable, thesleeve m2 being attached by a screw pin- 53 to the lock frame 8?. ThesleevelGZ is provided with a flange use adapting it-tobe attached byscrews N35 to the instrument board we of an automobile. A finishingplate 'lil'l through which the lock barrel is slidable is also attachedby the screws N35 to the instrument board Hit. Since "one end' of thetube-84 is fixed and the other end is slidably connected with a fixedpart, manipulation of the tube tending to change its curvature fromnormal, as installed, may take place without substantially afiecting theBowden wire enclosed thereby.

To render the ignition timer operative by permitting the timer contactsto cooperate normally, the plunger 98 is retracted from the recess 99 byturning the key cylinder 9? by a suitable key. As previously mentioned,the spring Q5 will be released and will move the barrel 96 upwardly asviewed in Fig. 2 and will consequently move the Bowden wire 92 and therod 88 upwardly thereby permitting the contact -12 to engage thecontacts '43, due to 'the'action of a helical spring 45 which tends tourge the lever 45 toward the cam 3|. The resilient arm 13 being releasedby the retraction of the lever 4!, the stud ill will be drawn from therecess 12 so that the cover 58 may be removed from the timer housing ifdesired.

This movement of the'barrel fitwill cause the-rod to be moved into theposition shown in Fig.2,

this downward movement being assisted by a spring I08 which'encirclesthe rod "8% and is loc'ated between the inner end of the bushing 82 andthe head or inner end of the rod 86. The

timer contact 42 is then prevented from cooperating with the'contact 33,and the cover 55 is locked to the housing 2'4, so that the timerdisabling cannot be manipulated andth'e purpose of the lock defeated.

The ignition timer is attached to the engine frame by 'a-s'crew l'lthaving an extersion received by a socket H in the shank 22 of theignition timerirame'23. Removal of the-screw iii! is prevented'by ascrew 5 I l-2 threaded into 'an' extension l! 3 of the engine frame 29.The head of the screw is accessible only through a hole H 5 1 the wall26 of the housing 24 and through 'a notch H5 provided in thebreakerl'ever plate it. -It will therefore be apparent that -the-screw I12 cannot be removed to prevent removal of the screw l-lli unless theignition timer has been unlocked so thatthe cover 50 may be removed. Inthis way the ignition timer is locked to the engine frame so that itcannot be removed except with 'considerable -difli'culty by anunauthorized person n'ot provided'with-a proper key-fo'r operating thelock. Therefore no other ignitiontimer can "be substituted'in ordertodfeat the purpose of the ignition-lock without first mutilating theengine frame 'position' and for preventing'access to said timerattaching means. V

2. An anti-theft devi'ce for automobilescomprising, in combination,'a=timer 'casing, 'arcover for "the casing -means for" attaching thecasing to the frame ofan engine, a member within the casing normallyoperable to control the timing of the ignition and means for retractingsaid member to an inoperative position, for securing said cover againstremoval from said casing and for preventing access to said timerattaching means.

3. An anti-theft device for automobiles comprising an ignition timerincluding make-andbreakcontacts,means whereby the engine operates saidtimer, means for attaching the timer to the engine frame, and lockcontrolled means for preventing cooperation of the timer contacts andfor preventing access to said timer attaching means.

4. An anti-theft device for automobiles comprising an ignition timerhaving a movable contact on a breaker lever engageable with a relativelystationary contact, means whereby the engine operates said timer, meansfor attaching the timer to the engine frame, and lock controlled meansfor moving the movable contact out of engagement with the stationarycontact and for holding it in such position, and for preventing accessto said timer attaching means.

5. An anti-theft device for automobiles comprising an ignition timeradapted to be driven by the engine and having a housing containingmakeand-break contacts, a breaker lever supporting one of the contacts,a cover for the housing, means for attaching the housing to the frame ofthe engine, and lock controlled means for preventing access to the timerattaching means, for preventing removal of the cover, and for preventingcooperation of the contacts.

6. An anti-theft device for automobiles comprising an ignition timeradapted to be driven by the engine and having a housing containingmake-and-break contacts, a cover for the housing, means for attachingthe housing to the frame of the engine, means to prevent removal of thetimer attaching means, said means being accessible through the housingonly when said cover is removed, and lock controlled means forpreventing cooperation of the timer contacts and for preventing removalof the cover.

An anti-theft device for automobiles comprising an ignition timeradapted to be driven by the engine and having a housing containingmake-and-break contacts, a cover for the housing, means for attachingthe housing to the frame of the engine, means to prevent removal of thetimer attaching means, said means being accessible through the housingonly when said cover is removed, and lock controlled means forpreventing removal of the cover.

8. An anti-theft device for automobiles comprising an i nition timeradapted to be driven by the engine and having a housing containingmake-and-break contacts, said housing having a shank, adapted to bereceived by an opening in the frame of the engine, a locking memberextending from the frame into the shank to prevent removal of thehousing from the frame and manually adjustable to permit removal of thehousing, a second member for engaging the first locking member toprevent adjustment thereof, said second member being accessible throughthe timer housing, and lock controlled means for preventing access tothe second member.

9. An anti-theft device for automobiles comprising a housing forenclosing timing and distributing devices, a plate for dividing thehousing into timer and distributor chambers; a member Within the timerchamber normally operable to control the ignition timing, and means formoving said member to an inoperative position and for securing saidplate against removal from the housing, when said member is moved.

10. An anti-theft device for automobiles comprising an ignitionapparatus having a timer and a distributor therefor, a housing for saidapparatus, a cover plate for the timer separating the housing into adistributor chamber and a timer chamber, make-and-break contacts in thetimer chamber, and lock controlled means for locking the cover againstremoval and for preventing cooperation of the timer contacts when saidmeans is operated to lock said cover.

11. An anti-theft device for automobiles comprising an ignitionapparatus having a timer and a distributor therefor, a housing for saidapparatus, a cover plate for the timer separating the housing into adistributor chamber and a timer chamber, a circuit interrupter in thetimer chamber, said interrupter including a camoperated circuit breakerlever, and lock controlled means for holding the lever in circuit openposition and for securing the cover plate against removal, while thelever is held in such position.

12. An anti-theft device for automobiles comprising, in combination, atimer housing, a cover for said housing, a member within the housingnormally operable to control the ignition timing, means for moving saidmember to an inoperative position, and a device moved by said member asthe latter is moved into inoperative position to prevent removal of thecover from the housing.

13. An anti-theft device for automobiles comprising an ignition timerhaving a movable contact carried by a lever and engageable with astationary contact, a housing for the contacts and lever, a cover forthe housing, lock controlled means for holding said lever in suchposition that the contact carried thereby is out of engagement with thefixed contact, and means actuated by the lever when moved to suchposition for preventing removal of the cover.

14. An anti-theft device for automobiles comprising an ignition timerhaving a movable contact carried by a lever and engageable with astationary contact, a housing for the contacts and lever, said housinghaving an opening in the side wall thereof, a cover for the housing andcarrying a member movable into said opening in the housing wall to lockthe cover against removal from the housing, lock controlled means formoving said lever to position to hold the movable contact out ofengagement with the stationary contact and means whereby said leverholds said locking member in said opening when the lever is moved tosuch position.

15. An anti-theft device for automobiles comprising, in combination, atimer housing, a cover for said housing, a member Within the housingnormally operative to control the ignition timing, interlocking meansprovided by the cover and housing, said interlocking means beingreleasable by partial rotation of the cover, and lock controlled meansfor preventing rotation of the cover, whereby the cover and housing areheld in interlocked condition as long as lock controlled means isoperative.

16. An anti-theft device for automobiles comprising, in combination, atimer housing, a cover for said housing, a member within the housingnormally operative to control the ignition timing, interlocking meansprovided by the cover and housing, said interlocking means beingreleasable by partial rotation of the .cover, and lock controlled meansfor moving said member toinoperative position, and for preventingrotation of the cover, whereby the .cover and housing are held ininterlocked relation when said member is in inoperative position.

1'7. An anti-theft device for automobiles comprising, in combination, atimer housing, a cover for said housing, a member within :the housingnormally operative to control the ignition timing, interlocking meansprovided by the ALBERT R. 'LEWELLEN.

